Public Relations
by Gabi-hime
Summary: Misaki & Oujirou Misaki thought she knew Oujirou pretty well, until his doujinshi habit came out into the open, that is.
1. A Peculiar Situation

_Public Relations_

Part One of Three

By Gabi-hime

(pinkfluffynet@yahoo.com)

Spoilers: The end of Angelic Layer TV.

Pairing: Misaki/Oujirou

Rating: PG for implied silliness XD

Synopsis: A humor/romance piece in three parts. Misaki thought that she knew Oujirou pretty well, until she found out about his doujinshi habit, that is.

A/N: This fanfic assumes that there are doujinshi about Angelic Layer the sport in the Angelic Layer world. These doujinshi aren't about the anime or manga, but rather are about the real people as they exist in the AL world. I hope that makes sense. For people who don't know what doujinshi are, they are, as concisely as I can tell you, fan made and distributed manga continuing or doing side stories for a particular manga or anime. There are doujinshi about j-rock bands, so it followed simply for me that since Angelic Layer is so popular in Japan at the time of the anime, there are likely a few doujinshi about it ^_^. Thanks for all the wonderful comments on /Of Waltzes and Waiting/ ^^. Yay! I love you all :D Especially the ones who I can bribe to write Angelic Layer fanfiction.

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Misaki tapped her foot in time to the song on the radio as she scrambled the eggs for the tamagoyaki. Ringo's second single was doing quite well on the charts and it was getting a lot of air time. Misaki loved the rollicking tone of Ringo's songs, and she couldn't help humming along with the music as she whisked the eggs up light and fluffy. 

Today had been wonderful as a whole. Her mother had gone out shopping early and had returned with a new apron as a gift for her culinary minded daughter. Misaki had been thrilled. The new apron was soft cotton, pale pink with ruffles and a large red heart on the chest. Misaki had put it on immediately and had decided to make tamagoyaki to "try out" her present. Her mother had retired for a short nap after returning home, as her endurance still wasn't quite what it should have been. Misaki didn't mind at all. She liked cooking and the fact that she was alone lowered her inhibitions and she found herself lightly hopping from foot to foot in time with the music as she sang along.

"I don't know how to tell you that I love you. I'm such a silly girl, but someday I know that love will come true, happy end," she sang softly, careful not to wake her mother, whisking in time to the music.

His voice, when it came, was lightly amused, "It suits you."

Misaki froze, eyes widening in shock as she realized she'd been caught singing and dancing around the kitchen like a great big goober. She turned several shades of pink before she finally managed to look over her shoulder to place the source of the voice.

Oujirou was, as she expected, standing almost directly behind her, leaning casually up against the wall, looking as unflappable as always. She had absolutely no idea how he'd gotten there, as she knew he'd had to have passed right by her to get where he was currently standing. There was only one entrance to their kitchen and she was between it and the immaculate prince. She hated to think she'd been so caught up in the song that she'd missed him brushing right past her, but there seemed to be no other explanation, other than his unique ability to show up randomly at the most opportune or, conversely, inopportune times. In Misaki's opinion, despite how much she liked Oujirou, this was one of the inopportune times.

She couldn't banish the pink from her cheeks as she greeted him, speaking a little too forcefully so his name came out as an exclamation of surprise rather than a nominative, "Oujirou-san!"

"You're cute," he observed, as if it were not a matter of opinion, but rather of scientific fact, and then smiled at her, "And it does suit you."

She was completely lost as to what he was talking about. Did he mean the song, or perhaps the ridiculous little hopping dance she had been doing? She blushed a little pinker and as often happened when he was around, suddenly found her sock feet very interesting.

"The apron, Misaki-chan," he laughed softly, but not unkindly, "The apron suits you."

The mention of her new apron seemed to dispel the pink in her cheeks that had been inspired by his sudden and unexpected arrival. She relaxed somewhat and smiled, turning to show him the front of it.

"Okaa-san went out and bought it for me this morning. It's wonderful, isn't it? I'm making some tamagoyaki for her as a present."

"You're very kind, Misaki-chan," he observed again with the same softly amused matter-of-fact tone.

She blushed pink again and turned back to the tamagoyaki and busied herself making it so she'd have something to do other than stare at her socks while he complimented her. She was too shy to respond in any other way, but she did appreciate his kindness in offering his praise of her so freely.

"Cute," he repeated behind her and she whisked at the eggs like there was no tomorrow.

Thankfully, he was silent after that, and she managed to finish making the tamagoyaki without incident, despite the fact that she was fairly certain that he was watching every move she made with that quiet, reserved air of his. When she finally turned back to him she was surprised to find that his attention was not on her, as it so often was, but was rather on a small paper book in his hands. She had no idea that Oujirou read manga. He always seemed too aloof for it, too mature and adult.

Her curiosity got the better of her and she finally asked, "Ano, Oujirou-san, what's that?"

He looked over the book at her for a steady moment before answering pleasantly, "It's the reason I'm in Tokyo today. I woke up early and took a morning train so I could go to the comic market."

"Doujinshi?" she asked curiously. She had certainly never thought Oujirou the type so devoted as to collect manga. She was surprised. Apparently there were many hidden sides to him.

He nodded and then turned the book so she could see the cover, "It's the first book to feature the both of us."

He spoke so unassumingly that for a moment it was easy to gloss over his words and continue to reflect on how interesting it was that he collected doujinshi, but then the precise content of his sentence slammed Misaki upside the head and she found she could do nothing but blink as she inquired in disbelief, "What?"

That half smile was on his face again, as if he were enjoying some secret joke, "It's the first doujinshi to feature both of us," he repeated pleasantly, and then went on to continue, "The first batch of doujinshi about the national tournament came out today. There are always about forty or fifty a year. It's one of the things that comes from being such a popular Deus, I suppose, but this is the first one to come out that's about the two of us."

"That doujinshi is about us?" she squeaked, still disbelieving even though she could see the cover clearly from where she stood. It had the two of them in school uniforms and he was giving her a piggy back ride while she flashed a V. She was so embarrassed she thought she was going to melt onto the floor in a little puddle of embarrassed goo.

He nodded and then offered the book to her, "Go ahead, it's safe to read. The adult only ones are always marked," he observed absently, and quite calmly, as if talking about this were the most normal thing in the world, "I try to make sure I have a copy of every doujinshi that comes out that features me. It's a simple thing, and I like showing the fans that I care about them. I think of them as an extended family," he said with a completely straight face.

That was strange. Misaki thought of his fans as an extended harem rather than an extended family, but that was really his business. He reigned benevolent and gentle with all of them, and they adored their Prince of the Layer. It was as she had confessed to him last summer: it was impossible for girls, no matter their age, to not find him attractive. She blushed a shade deeper pink, discovering new values of that rose inspired color with every stray thought that crossed in connection with the infamous doujinshi.

She found that she could not ignore the proffered doujinshi for long, and accepted it, morbidly curious as to what was inside it, despite the deep blush on her cheeks. Thankful to have something to concentrate on that wasn't her socks or Oujirou, even if it was a doujinshi that was apparently /_about/_ the two of them, Misaki studied the page that Oujirou had left it open to. She didn't mean to, but found she couldn't help but reading a passage aloud in disbelief.

"Oh, Oujirou-kun, I love you so much, you are the bestest ever. I love you too, Misaki-chan. Yay, let's go have a picnic!" the shades of rose varied and modulated as Misaki read through the short interchange, horrified when "Misaki" tackled Oujirou with glee even though they were in the middle of a crowded tournament ground where everyone could see her boisterous show of affection. She couldn't help but feel embarrassed over "her" blatant and public show of affection and squealed quite involuntarily, "No, I'm too shy!"

Oujirou didn't seem phased by her outburst at all, but instead offered another nugget of information about the doujinshi, "There are some nice illustrations of Hikaru in there as well."

Desperate to get away from the picnic scene, and quite unwilling to look at Oujirou as he calmly watched her reaction to the doujinshi, she flipped forward hastily and came upon a full page spread of Wizard and Hikaru in what looked to be a very compromising position. No longer content with pink, Misaki turned several shades of violet as she nearly shrieked, "Oujirou-san, I thought you said this book didn't have that kind of stuff!" she looked mortified, and felt she would never be able to live this down.

He chuckled quietly to himself over her shock even as he offered an explanation of the scene she was referring to, "It doesn't, Misaki-chan. Wizard and Hikaru were put into a bag together and just fell like that. Look at the page before." 

He seemed so benign and so intent on the innocence of the doujinshi that she obediently checked the page before and saw that what he said was true, but flipping back . . . she turned purple again and then could no longer help herself and shoved the book back at Oujirou who took it with good grace, seemingly unaware, as all gentlemen should be, of her discomfort.

She tried her best to rationalize this doujinshi and the fact that Oujirou had a copy, but she still had great difficulty coming to terms with the fact that it even existed, let alone what it contained. At least there was one doujinshi that had her in it, although this further led her to wonder exactly who were in the other doujinshi with him. She had almost gathered the courage to ask him how many doujinshi he owned featuring himself when her mother's voice startled her from the doorway to the kitchen.

"I see this year's doujinshi are out, Ou-chan," Shuuko observed amusedly, "You're such a good boy, spending all that money just to show your fans that you care about them."

"It's just the first batch today, Shuuko-san, and it's the least I can do. They aren't that expensive," he leaned down and fished about in his courier's bag to produce five more doujinshi. Misaki was further mortified to see that four of the five other doujinshi that he brought out of the bag either had the two of them on the cover in various out of character poses, or featured Hikaru and Wizard in similar straits. If she hadn't been ready to dissolve in embarrassment before, she certainly was now.

"Oh, it seems Misaki was popular this year," she laughed gently, also seemingly oblivious to her daughter's mortal embarrassment and taking the situation of the doujinshi as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"Mm," he murmured noncommittally, "She is this year. There are actually more doujinshi with her in them than with Athena and 'Shuu' in this batch," he smiled pleasantly.

Shuuko laughed, taking the plate of tamagoyaki from the counter and offering a piece to him, "That's to be expected. She is the champion now and you haven't exactly made a secret of your interest in her, Ou-chan. I don't mind. It was Misaki's time to shine in the Layer. It's only fitting that there be more doujinshi about her."

Misaki had finally managed to pull herself together enough to speak again as she was offered the tamagoyaki, "I thought you said that that doujinshi was the first one," she was too embarrassed to say exactly what it was the first of, but she imagined he could follow her train of thought, "I mean, the only one."

He smiled brightly, turning the doujinshi over to clarify, "I meant that it was the first one completed according to the date on the back. There were five with the two of us this time."

Misaki leaned forward to look at the back of the book and saw that is said "Misaki and Oujirou only Love Love Book" on it as well as the date. That was it. She was going to die of embarrassment right here and now if she had to look at the thing for even one second more.

Oujirou seemed to sense that she was reaching the limits of her tolerance and innocently tucked the doujinshi back into his courier's bag. He chatted pleasantly with Shuuko for a few minutes but Misaki found herself unable to follow the conversation, her mind swimming with images of doujinshi, happy picnics, and love love only books. She felt heady, as if her mind was fluttering faster than she could follow. She needed to sit down. If she had ever had any experience with hard liquor she would have probably needed a drink as well. Every time she thought back to the doujinshi (the set of doujinshi, she corrected herself, her mind continuing to swim) she found herself deepening into a rose-hued blush again. She was preparing herself again to ask exactly how many of these doujinshi there were in Oujirou's complete collection when he politely took his leave, squeezing her hand gently and bidding farewell to Shuuko as he shouldered his bag, claiming that he had a train to catch.

Misaki hadn't come back to reality enough to respond clearly when he left. She just sat in her chair studying the plate of tamagoyaki and trying to bring the situation into clearer focus. Shuuko busied herself tidying up the kitchen, as Misaki still wasn't condition to clean up herself. Still reeling and giddy from the experience of seeing herself in a doujinshi /_with Oujirou/ _she had to take several slow breaths to keep from hyperventilating.

"Oh dear, Ou-chan seems to have forgotten one," Shuuko said, leaning to pick up a doujinshi, neatly sealed in plastic, that had fallen forgotten to the floor. She laid the doujinshi on the table by the tamagoyaki and then turned back to wipe off the counter.

Misaki couldn't control her curiosity for long, and even though her embarrassment had not abated, she couldn't help but turn the book over to see the title. It took a long, solid second for the words to fully connect in her brain, but when they did, it was all she could do to keep from fainting. 

"Misaki and Oujirou – Wizard and Princess – For Adult Only."

_To be continued . . ._

_Stay tuned for part two! Will Ou-chan turn out to be a great big perv? Will Misaki ever get over her debilitating blush? Will the new doujinshi feature pictures of the two of them dressed as bunnies? All this and more in the thrilling second chapter of "Public Relations"_


	2. Tamayochan's Excellent Advice

  


Public Relations

  


Part Two of Three

  


By Gabi-hime

(pinkfluffynet@yahoo.com)

Spoilers: The end of Angelic Layer TV.

Pairing: Misaki/Oujirou

Rating: PG-13 for implied silliness XD

Synopsis: A humor/romance piece in three parts. Misaki thought that she knew Oujirou pretty well, until she found out about his doujinshi habit, that is. Part two of three. Enter Tamayo-chan and her unique brand of advice.

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She had dealt with it. She'd had the thing for over two hours now and she had come to terms with it. She still was not comfortable with it, but she could now stand to look at it. At least, that's what Suzuhara Misaki kept telling herself. 

  


She was lying face down on her bed, hiding underneath a pillow. The document in question was lying in the center of the rug in front of her bed. Although she was currently attempting to convince herself that she was now on top of things, every time she peeped over the pillow to look at the small paperbound book she found herself blushing scarlet with the implications of this "Adult Only" publication.

  


There had to be a logical explanation for why Oujirou had adult only books. Scratch that. There had to be a logical explanation for why Oujirou had such a book that was not the one that immediately popped into her mind every time she looked at it. Anything else would be just, just, just scandalous!

  


Tamayo had been no great help in coming up with a viable alternative reason either. When Misaki had called her up not only for her opinion but just from sheer need to tell _someone_ about her discovery Tamayo had burst out laughing and informed Misaki in no uncertain terms that she was coming over to gawk at the_ thing_.

  


Misaki thought Tamayo was taking this situation far too lightly, but then again she wasn't the one featured in various private and unknowable situations and positions readily available to any member of the general public with five hundred yen in their pocket in convenient book form. The gentleman who was continually reminding Tamayo of his assured interest and commitment did not own one of these doujinshi either, nor had he left one of them at her house accidentally.

  


It was somehow different when one considered one's personal attachment to the situation, not that Misaki would wish this situation on anyone. Standing where she was, she had difficulty seeing the humor inherent in this given situation. If it had perhaps been the plot of some silly shounen manga, she might have been able to exercise enough frame of reference to giggle at it, but as it was, it simply mortified her.

  


Well, at least she knew that no matter how hilarious Tamayo found the situation, the girl was aware of just how it embarrassed and distressed it made Misaki and would keep it to herself, outside of a few cryptic jokes in the presence of others. Besides, Misaki needed to get someone's opinion on the matter. She had to tell someone else or else she felt like she'd explode and somehow she felt the matter was a little too adult for Hatako-chan. The little girl might be quite cool on the surface, but in the end she was still only five years old and thus not likely to be able to offer many experienced based opinions on the matter (not that Tamayo was bursting at the seams with forbidden information – they were, after all, still twelve years old).

  


So Tamayo it was, for better or for worse. She couldn't exactly share it with her mother, after all. It was about . . . _naughtiness_ . . . and _boys_ . . . and _her_ in specific . . . and just not the sort of thing she wanted to discuss with her newfound mother. She was apparently quite used to the idea of doujinshi about her personal life and Misaki had to assume that included the, the, the _naughty ones._

  


"So there it is. You know, the doujinshi," Tamayo's voice came unexpectedly from the doorway, and Misaki sat up and then turned to face her, hugging the pillow she'd been using earlier as a ward against actually seeing the doujinshi that Tamayo was so excitedly and glibly referring to to her chest as if it were a security blanket, so that only her eyes were visible over the crest of it. 

  


Tamayo marched straight over to where the doujinshi lay on the rug and then flopped unceremoniously beside it, further explaining her sudden appearance as she studied the doujinshi as if it were a rare artifact, being careful not to touch it lest she damage it, "Misakichi's mother let me in. I got here as fast as I could. So, have you opened it yet?" 

  


"Opened it?!" what Misaki had intended as an indignant exclamation came out as a scandalized squeak, "Of course I haven't opened it. Why would I want to open it?!"

  


Tamayo was nonplussed. She folded her hands in front of her and then leaned forward and spoke as if she didn't understand Misaki's question since the answer was so obvious, "To see what's inside. Duh, Misakichi."

  


Misaki went white, and her response came out quite muffled, since her immediate reaction to Tamayo's response was to bury her face in the pillow, "I don't want to see what's inside."

  


"Sure you do," Tamayo assured her and there was a rustling of plastic that brought Misaki's face out of the pillow immediately. Tamayo was holding the doujinshi above her head so that the light picked up the seamline of the plastic wrapping. Misaki let out another scandalized squeak and Tamayo turned to regard her, a conspiratorial smile on her face, "Come on Misakichi, you don't have to pretend with me. This is Tamayo-chan. I promise I won't tell anyone your dirty secret. You do want to see what's inside, don't you?"

  


Misaki buried her face in the pillow again and then after a long, long stretch of tense silence her voice came muffled and miserable, "Yes."

  


"I knew it!" Tamayo crowed, waving the doujinshi over her head like it was some sort of strange trophy.

  


"But you can't open it!" she amended quickly, peeping up from the pillow.

  


Tamayo was somewhat put out, "Why?"

  


"Because then Oujirou-san would know that I looked at it when I gave it back to him," Misaki looked positively green at this prospect.

  


"Give it back to him?" Tamayo seemed puzzled.

  


"Well it is his, isn't it?" Misaki answered quietly, the distress in her voice plain.

  


Tamayo rocked back on her heels, "Miiiiiiiiiiiisakichiiiiii," she prodded concernedly, suddenly distracted from the prospect of gawking at naughty things, "What's bothering you so much?"

  


"It belongs to Oujirou-san," it was Misaki's turn to sound as if she were explaining something perfectly obvious.

  


"So?" asked Tamayo, crossing her arms, again not following, "Even if you're going to give it back to him, what's wrong with him having it in the first place? It's not like you found out his secret hobby was buying doujinshi of himself with _other_ girls, or with, I dunno, Icchan-san. That's the kind of thing that would bother me. Besides, didn't you say on the phone that he said that he only bought them to keep his fans happy?"

  


"But -- " Misaki attempted to rise to defend her position but Tamayo waved her off.

  


"Listen, if it really bothers you so much then what you haveta do is actually talk to Mihara-san about it. It's not going to make you feel any better if you just give it back and then brood over it. If it bothers you, then ask him about it."

  


"But --"

  


"You want to know, right?" persisted Tamayo.

  


"Yes . . ." came Misaki's reluctant concession.

  


"Well, the best way I know to find out about something is to ask about it," she concluded frankly, nodding to finalize her point.

  


Before Misaki had a chance to respond to Tamayo's logical plan of action, a long warbling call was heard through the house.

  


"Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisaki-chaaaaan?"

  


The voice was unmistakable. The girls glanced at each other and Tamayo shoved the doujinshi at Misaki, who in turn shoved it under her bag, underneath a text book, her journal, a manga tankubon, a back of pencils and a little bag of clothes for Hikaru. If she'd had time she would have liked to wrap it up tightly in nondescript paper and then simply mail it back to Oujirou from an anonymous address just so she wouldn't have to deal with it any more. Wizard and Princess. She choked.

  


Unfortunately for her she only had time to shove it to the bottom of her backpack before the warbling call came again, this time closer.

  


"Coming, Icchan-san!" she called back before he slithered into her room and wondered why the two of them were sitting and staring at each other an empty piece of rug.

  


She and Tamayo found him in the living room, his back to both of them, Ogata standing to one side, laden down with two heavy cases. Somehow he still managed a wave by shifting both of the cases to one hand and almost falling over from the lopsided load.

  


"Hello, girls," he called pleasantly, and at his voice Icchan turned around and crossed his arms in front of him, adjusting his glasses so they caught the gleam from a nearby lamp.

  


"So, Misaki-chan, are you ready to go on our Super Fun Fun Adventure?"

  


Misaki had no idea what he was talking about. If she were not so used to Icchan's bizarre behavior then her mouth might have fallen open. Instead she just laughed nervously and desperately hoped this didn't have anything to do with the doujinshi.

  


"What, Icchan-san?"

  


Icchan raised an eyebrow, "Our Super Fun Fun Adventure to Kobe," he seemed to consider her blank stare for a moment and then turned to Ogata, "You did remember to tell Misaki about the Super Fun Fun Adventure, didn't you, Ogata-kun?"

  


Ogata paled, "Well, chief, I had so much stuff to organize for the Kobe operation that I didn't have time to get over here, but Oujirou-kun mentioned that he was coming over here and he said that he'd tell Misaki-chan."

  


"You left it up to him? No wonder she doesn't know," Icchan flailed about, "Baatsu game: roll in this pool full of live slugs!"

  


From somewhere behind him, where she had no idea, Icchan managed to produce a child's plastic swimming pool filled to capacity with wiggling slugs. Ogata resignedly sat the cases down by his feet and prepared to roll in the tub o' slugs.

  


Tamayo looked sideways at Icchan and then finally managed to ask, "Where did you get that?"

  


"Brazil," he answered matter-of-factly, "They're Brazilian flesh eating slugs." 

  


Ogata shrieked like a little girl because he had just settled himself in the tub o' slugs when Icchan imparted this revelation.

  


"Just joking!" Icchan laughed heartily and Ogata looked as if he were going to faint. Icchan stopped laughing abruptly and turned to Misaki, "We're going to Kobe for a Super Fun Fun Adventure. I'm taking you there to run you through some exercises with Hikaru so we can monitor them in the new facility there. And then we're going to the amusement park. And then we're going to have ice cream. It's going to be a party," he assured her, "But if we're going to go we need to go now or we'll be late for dinner. Can you pack an overnight bag fast?"

  


Misaki blinked and then nodded. She remembered Icchan asking her if she'd cooperate in something like this a few weeks ago but never imagined that it would come up so soon.

  


"We'll be back late tomorrow night. Hurry and pack, Misaki-chan. I'll go tell Shuuko."

  


Misaki nodded silently, her head swirling with the situation. Tamayo helped her pack a change of clothes and her pajamas and then nearly fell over laughing when Misaki almost charged off without Hikaru. By the time the two girls got back to the living room Ogata had apparently finished his punishment, because the tub o' slugs was mysteriously gone. Misaki glanced at Tamayo and the other girl simply shrugged. There was really no telling.

  


Icchan fluttered in a few moments later, apparently with the Suzuhara Shuuko seal of approval for the mysterious Super Fun Fun Adventure. He hustled Misaki and Ogata out the door even as Tamayo yelled a good luck cheer after them and gave Misaki a thumbs up while winking.

  


Oh yes. The doujinshi. She blanched. It was still in her backpack, which she was currently wearing. In all the rush she'd completely forgotten to take it out. Well, she couldn't exactly hide it away inconspicuously now, not with Icchan ushering her out the door. She was just going to have to . . . keep it with her.

  


She brooded about the doujinshi all the way to the train station. Ogata drove them and Icchan complained about his driving the entire way, to which Ogata only responded, "But Chief, you can't drive at all!"

  


This earned Ogata a baatsu game of having two entire lemons stuffed into his mouth the entire rest of the way to the station.

  


Misaki didn't actually come out of her trance until they were well on their way to Kobe on the late train. Icchan had disappeared off some place, probably to restock on his baatsu game equipment, which she had to assume was running low. 

  


After he left, Misaki abruptly asked, "Ogata-san, have you ever seen any of the Angelic Layer doujinshi?"

  


He nodded a little glumly, "Yes, Oujirou-kun showed a few of them to me."

  


Misaki leaned over, sensing the unhappiness in his tone, "What's wrong, Ogata-san?"

  


He sighed heavily, "There are never any about the people in the Angelic Layer company, except for a few about Mihara-chief. I told Oujirou-kun if he ever say any of them with me that he should buy them up and I'd pay him back for them but he hasn't had any luck so far."

  


"You _want_ to be in a doujinshi?" Misaki couldn't help her voice squeaking in surprise.

  


He nodded again, "Of course, I think it'd be wonderful, don't you?"

  


Misaki laughed nervously and agreed with him. Obviously she was going to get no good advice on the matter from Ogata with the old "You see, my friend found this doujinshi . . ." ploy. Oh well, she supposed it was a little much to hope for.

  


She remained mostly silent for the rest of the ride, brooding about the significance of such a publication in the hands of the . . . of the . . . well, in Oujirou's hands, anyway.

  


The car ride after the train ride was much like the one from her home to the train station, although Ogata managed to avoid a baatsu game on this round, although it was only narrowly. Misaki didn't notice that they hadn't driven to a facility until they got out of the car and she realized that they were standing in front of a nice apartment building. When she queried, Ogata answered.

  


"The trials aren't until tomorrow morning. We're spending the night here first and then starting bright and early. At least that's what Mihara-chief says. I think he's fibbing. Just between you and me, he doesn't like to wake up early."

  


"I heard you! BAATSU GAME!" Icchan ordered, "Run up the stairs and beat us to the thirteenth floor!"

  


Ogata paled again but obediently started to put down the luggage so he could sprint up the stairs.

  


"While carrying the luggage!" Icchan added.

  


Ogata looked suitably distressed and moaned, "But Chieeef!"

  


"No buts! Get going or you'll be doing it with an octopus in your pants!"

  


This was apparently enough motivation for Ogata, who took off without further admonishment. Icchan and Misaki took the much less exciting but much more comfortable elevator. Misaki was not surprised that Ogata had not managed to beat them to the top floor of the building but Icchan seemed to have forgotten that he'd ordered Ogata to sprint up the stairs in the first place and sauntered over to the second door on the left with Misaki at his heels, shy in such a strange place.

  


Icchan produced a key and unlocked the door just as Ogata burst through the doors to the emergency stairwell. Icchan once again ignored him, and simply motioned for Misaki to follow him in. She did and he gestured for her to sit in the rather empty living room while he went off into the back of the apartment.

  


"Okaa-san, we're here!" she heard him warbling and wiggling around in the back.

  


She stopped cold. Okaa-san. Icchan's Okaa-san. That meant Oujirou's Okaa-san. That mean she was sitting in the front room of Oujirou's house. Oujirou's house. That meant Oujirou's bedroom was nearby. Oujirou's . . .

  


For the second time that day, Misaki nearly fainted.

  


_To be continued . . ._

  


_In the exciting finale XD. I know you're all on the edge of your seats XD._

  


  


  


  


  


  


  



	3. The Exciting Finale!

  


Public Relations

  


Part Three of Three

  


By Gabi-hime

(pinkfluffynet@yahoo.com)

Spoilers: The end of Angelic Layer TV.

Pairing: Misaki/Oujirou, implied Shuuko/Icchan

Rating: PG-13 for implied silliness XD

Synopsis: A humor/romance piece in three parts. Misaki thought that she knew Oujirou pretty well, until she found out about his doujinshi habit, that is. Part three of three. The exciting conclusion to this _comic_al epic. Oh, I kill me XD.

Bonus: You may have noticed that I actually did a cover for the _naughty doujinshi_. No, it's probably not naughty enough, but I thought it was cute XD You can also see it on my profile page here at ff.net until my server gets fixed :/

  
  


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Misaki was feeling very light-headed and everything around her seemed to be going in slow motion, including Icchan's wiggling. She felt herself lose balance but there was nothing she could do to stop herself, and as she pitched sideways she knew that she was soon to get a very up close and personal view of the floor. That is until long, slender fingers wrapped firmly around her shoulders from behind, set her back on her feet and then led her slowly backwards to sit on a low couch.

"You should probably lean forward and put your head between your knees. That should help with the faintness," came a familiar and totally unreadable voice that shook her out of her faint, especially once she realized he had covered her smaller hand with his own.

"Oujirou-san!" she exclaimed without really meaning to. His random appearances always elicited the same response from her, as if she were checking to make sure that it was indeed him and she wasn't hallucinating, "What are you doing here?"

He raised an eyebrow and looked vaguely amused, "Shouldn't I be asking you that, Misaki-chan? This is my home, after all."

Misaki swallowed. Right. She was currently sitting in the parlor of Oujirou's _house_. That meant his _bedroom_ was only . . . and then there was the matter of the doujinshi which was currently burning a hole in her lap as she was clinging to her small overnight bag like it was some sort of security blanket.

Icchan's spooky face suddenly appeared disembodied between them on the couch, "Oh, don't you act like you had no idea she was coming, otoutou-_chan_. Ogata says he asked you specifically to tell Misaki to prepared for a trip to Kobe this evening. I want to know why you didn't tell her. We almost missed the train because of that delay and Ogata's terrible driving!"

Misaki almost shrieked at this bizarre display of Icchan's supernatural abilities until she realized he was just crouched behind the couch, peeping over so only his head was visible.

"But Chief, there's nothing wrong with my driving!" came Ogata's attempt to defend himself, but Icchan would have nothing of it.

"Baatsu game! Go ride up and down in the elevator for fifteen minutes with this irate wolverine!" and with that Icchan managed to produce a specimen of that almost universally bad tempered North American predator in a small wicker cage which rattled and shook. He foisted it upon Ogata and sent him out the door, calling, "Don't forget to let it out it it's cage either, Ogata!"

There was a strangled affirmative from Ogata from down the hall punctuated by several short snarling barks and the ding of the elevator. This apparently satisfied Icchan because he turned his attention back to his younger brother. Not for the first time Misaki was secretly relieved that Icchan never tried any Baatsu games on anyone other than Ogata, who seemed to have more lives than a cat.

Oujirou looked winningly innocent against his brother's charges of foul play and answered cheerfully, "I don't know. It must have slipped my mind."

"Humph," Icchan stood up, crossing his arms after pushing his glasses back up his nose, "Well you just make sure that you don't do anything that might upset the champion while we're here. She's got an important trial tomorrow and then we're going to go to an amusement park and have ice cream. I don't want you to ruin the mood of our Super Fun Fun Adventure to Kobe."

"Super Fun Fun Adventure to Kobe?" Oujirou asked a little incredulously, as if didn't believe the outlandish title in badly mangled English his brother had given their outing.

"Yes, Super Fun Fun Adventure to Kobe," Icchan put his hands square on his hips and looked as if he had another retort for his younger step-brother when Oujirou suddenly interrupted him.

"Good evening, Okaa-san. How was the library?"

Misaki and Icchan turned in unison and saw that while he and Oujirou had been embroiled in their quasi-confrontation the lady of the house had quietly entered and taken off her shoes. She was in the midst of unwinding a scarf from around a large floppy hat when Oujirou spoke to her. She turned pleasantly to answer her son, a serene smile on her face and Misaki was rocked by her appearance. Yes, her hair was darker, a black high-lighted with indigo, and the curls were a little looser, but Oujirou's mother was a dead ringer for Misaki's own mother, even down to the large, gentle eyes and the soft expression.

"It was like it always is, Ou-chan. A little hectic but wonderful, just the same," even as she answered her son she noticed the other occupants of the room and looked pleasantly surprised, "Oh my, oh my, and who is this?"

Icchan looked as if all the air had been let out of him at once and he wiggled over to his step-mother and flailed about worriedly, "Mama, don't you remember? I told you last week that I'd be bringing the champion over for dinner this evening."

Oujirou's mother paused thoughtfully with a finger to her lips and was still for several moments as if deep in thought before putting her hand behind her head and laughing pleasantly, "Oh my, that was _this_ evening?"

"Oh don't tell me, mama," Icchan moaned as if the world we're coming to an end, collapsing on his knees and looking quite teary.

"I'm sorry, Ichirou-san. I forgot," she smiled with a nameless joy that made Misaki wonder if anyone were actually home behind those large luminous eyes.

"It's all right, Okaa-san, I remembered. The pasta is started and the rolls are in the oven," Oujirou responded as if this were quite routine for him. He didn't seem perturbed at all.

"Oh, Ou-chan you're a lifesaver. What would I do without you?" she fluttered over to the couch and gave him an unembarrassed hug, "Don't worry about anything else. I'll finish the dinner. Thank you so much for starting it!"

Misaki half expected little pink hearts to appear over Oujirou's mother's head, so contagious was her pleasant demeanor. Misaki even managed to forget the dreaded bundle on her lap for a scant few seconds.

"Yes, Ou-_chan_, what would she do without you?" Icchan harassed and then struck a pose that was both cute and frightening, but nominally frightening, since it was Icchan doing the posing, "And how many times do I have to tell you, mama? It's Icchan nyororo," he cried, pointing at his chipmunk cheeks proudly.

Everyone, including Misaki, pointedly ignored this display, which on any other day she would've accepted as perfectly normal Icchan. Today however, with all it's compounded stress and weirdness, she felt that if she watched too closely (which she would've had she glanced in his direction, since Icchan displays were like a morbidly fascinating train wreck) it might have just driven her over the edge.

Oujirou, a champion at ignoring his older brother for both fun and profit, folded his free hand over his lap before turning to his mother, "Everything for dinner has been started except the salad and I would've started that except we didn't have lettuce or cucumbers."

"And exactly why didn't you go out and get them yourself?" demanded Icchan suspiciously, suddenly behind the three of them again, apparently a little miffed at being ignored.

"I didn't realize until I had started the pasta and I couldn't leave it unattended," Oujirou smiled blandly, unwilling to rise to Icchan's bait.

Icchan planted his hands on his hips and scrutinized his brother, but Oujirou gave no tells. For one split second Misaki had the strong impression that Oujirou would be an excellent poker player.

"Oh my, well, we must have salad with the pasta or there won't be enough on the table. Ichirou-san, will you go down to the market and buy some greens and carrots for the salad while I stay and finish the dinner?"

Icchan cast one last strong look at Oujirou and muttered, "Remember, I had my eye on you," before turning to his step-mother all smiles, "Of course, mama. Icchan will be back in a few minutes, nyororo."

He dashed out the door without a second glance behind him, apparently of the opinion that the faster he got going, the faster he'd be back. From the hallway Misaki heard the distinct ding of the elevator followed by a muffled shriek as Icchan apparently encountered Ogata and the irate wolverine who were still serving out punishment in the elevator. Once again, the three of them pointedly ignored the altercation in the hallway even as the sound faded as the elevator descended.

After it was quite silent again Oujirou's mother smiled at the two of them again and then looked startled, "Oh my, where are my manners? I'm Mihara Miyoko and I'm very pleased to meet you," Miyoko bowed gracefully to Misaki who responded by bowing no less than three times.

"I'm Suzuhara Misaki," she squeaked, "The pleasure is all mine."

"This is my girlfriend, okaa-san," Oujirou said kindly, squeezing Misaki's hand in an attempt to calm her a bit.

Misaki blushed a healthy shade of rose at this honest declaration and looked at her lap only to see her little pink piffle princess overnight bag, complete with scandalous doujinshi somewhere deep inside. She blushed an even deeper red and expected Miyoko to giggle or ruffle her hair in a condescending adult fashion, which is what most people did when informed of her _clandestine_ relationship with Oujirou.

Instead, Miyoko leaned very close to her and examined her seriously for a few moments and then leaned back and declared, "She's the cutest girl I've ever seen. You've chosen well, Ou-chan."

Misaki's eyes almost rolled back into her head. Apparently Oujirou's mother was perfectly fine with the fact that he was dating a junior high school girl. But then, perhaps she simply didn't notice. Maybe she thought that Misaki's was just _really_ short for her age.

"Thank you, okaa-san," Oujirou seemed somehow very validated by his mother's opinion, but this didn't stop him from pressing her gently, "Okaa-san, where's the dry cleaning?"

Her eyes went wide again and she seemed to almost jump as she raised one delicate hand to her face, "I completely forgot to pick it up. Papa-san will be cranky if he comes home and he doesn't have any suits. He has a big business meeting tomorrow. Oh no, what shall I do? I still need to finish the dinner and Papa-san will be home soon." She was apparently very distressed by this because she began to pace with an expression on her face not unlike a lost sheep.

Oujirou stood up and curled a comforting hand around his mother's shoulder, "Don't worry okaa-san. I'll watch the dinner. If you hurry you should be home before Otou-san gets back."

Miyoko looked at her son with such sparkles in her eyes that Misaki felt that they most certainly were in a shoujo manga. 

"Oh thank you, Ou-chan!" she leaned over and gave her son a kiss on the forehead before grabbing her scarf and hat and lacing up her boots with one hand, "I'll be back before you know it. Make sure to watch the pasta. You know that Papa-san doesn't like it burned."

And with that she was out the door before Misaki could open her mouth. Oujirou stood looking at the door for some moments, hands clasped loosely behind his back, before finally turning around. As he turned, the light from the table lamp caught his hair and brought out the beautiful deep green highlights. His eyes seemed enormous, great deep blue pools, radiant and soft at the same time. His words, when they came, were very simple, yet very appropriate.

"Hello, Misaki."

Misaki swallowed hard.

Misaki was alone. In the house. With Oujirou.

Misaki. Was. Alone. In the house. With. Oujirou.

Misaki. Was. Alone. With. Oujirou.

Alone.

With Oujirou.

Misaki's brain over-loaded and she did what any other self-respecting junior high school girl would do when placed in such a situation.

She ran away without explanation to the bathroom.

Or at least she would have, if she had known where the bathroom was. As it was, she got halfway to the hallway before turning back nervously as she shifted from foot to foot, "Ano, Oujirou-san, where is the bathroom?"

He smiled in a very non-threatening manner (which, as it happened, Misaki found very threatening at this moment and time) and then answered, "Second door to the left."

Misaki bolted down the hallway and hung a sharp left, positively flinging herself into the sanctity of the bathroom, where she could at least recover in peace.

It was then that she realized that what she was sitting on did not feel like tile at all. It was soft and cushy and felt rather like a pillow. Misaki looked down and saw that it was indeed a pillow with Wizard lovingly stitched into it in full color. She was sitting on Wizard's face. Misaki made a small strangled sound and threw herself off of the pillow as if it might have some sort of disease, earning herself a carpet burn on the leg for her trouble. That little hurt caused her to momentarily close her eyes and when she opened them up again she came to a startling realization.

The room was all navy with cream accents and blinds. There was a neat shelf against the wall that seemed to hold mostly manga and tactical and strategic texts. Beside this was a small mahogany trophy cabinet with several small gold trophies, a large silver trophy, and a medium sized bronze. Leaning against the trophy case was a very familiar black courier's bag with the sleek lines of the portable layer peeping out of it. In the corner, behind the desk with its large bag of what was presumably fanmail were several large cardboard cartons, all neatly labeled. Like Bluebeard's wife, Misaki felt inexplicably drawn to them. Well, if she was in the lion's den, she might as well keep going forward. She crept along the floor quietly, all the way over to the corner (even though she had to go perilously close to the bed – whose comforter was very soft and fleecy she found out quite by accident when her leg brushed up against it). The neat lines on the boxes that were so tightly taped up were so startling that Misaki's mouth fell open and she felt compelled to read them out loud.

"Oujirou and Hatako. Oujirou and Kaede. Oujirou and Ringo. Oujirou and Sai. Oujirou and _Ichirou._" 

She paused as she got to the bottom box which seemed to sport the most tape. The label on this box was harder to read as it was not only written with a different kind of pen but it was also curiously wavery (as opposed to the very neat lettering on all the other boxes). After a long moment of study and contemplation, Misaki finally managed to decipher it.

"Oujirou and Shuu?"

"I meant my left."

Misaki turned, eyes wide, hands gripping her bag tightly, "Ou-ou-oujirou-san!"

He was leaning casually up against the door frame with his arms crossed and an amused expression on his face.

"And before you ask, I'm here because this is my bedroom."

Misaki opened her mouth and then shut it. She didn't really have any sort of feasible explanation for why she was sitting in the corner looking through his things. There was really no reason to even try. Still, as Tamayo had earlier imparted, the best way to get an answer to a question is to ask it.

"Ano, Oujirou-san, what's in these boxes?"

Oujirou seemed to consider his words for moment before answering, "Those are all the doujinshi that I have no desire to read. I said that I thought it was good for the fans if I bought them. I never said that I thought it was necessary for me to read all of them," he raised an eyebrow and looked at the boxes in an appraising fashion, "And I really have no desire to read a doujinshi where Hatako and I go to a haunted hot springs."

Misaki studied the bag in her lap thoughtfully before asking, "Where are all the doujinshi with . . ." and this word was very new for her, "us?"

He casually walked over to the shelf, hands in his pockets, "Right here."

Misaki slowly stood up and went to look at the books on the shelf after taking a very deep breath. The top shelf was a line of doujinshi of variable sizes neatly labeled with a divider that declared them "Oujirou and Misaki." Well, there it was then. There was the unbroken line of naughty doujinshi featuring . . . the two of them. She swallowed hard. It was now or never.

"Oujirou-san?" her voice trilled oddly and she struggled to control it.

"Mmm?" He turned and the light caught his hair again.

Before she had time to second guess herself she dug into her little pink bag and pulled out the little plastic wrapped book that had previously burned her hand like fire.

"Oujirou-san-you-forgot-this-at-the-house-and-I-brought-it-back-to-you-I-promise-I-didn't-look-at-it-because-I'd-never-do-such-a-thing-and-I'm-sorry-I-came-into-your-room-it-was-an-accident-and-I-didn't-mean-it-and-I-hope-you'll-forgive-me!"

Misaki expelled so much of her breath in that non-stop explosion of apology that she felt faint and began to wobble back and forth. Oujirou put a steadying hand on her shoulder and squeezed it even as he casually took the book from her.

"Misaki-chan, it's all right. Take a breath."

Misaki did as she was told and took in a long shaky breath. Once assured of her good health, Oujirou turned and reshelved his errant publication on the second shelf from the top, which Misaki noted was labeled "H Doujinshi." She took a long, hard look at the shelf and realized that every book on that shelf was still quite immaculate in its plastic wrapping.

"Ou-ou," she gulped, "Oujirou-san? You don't read the books on that shelf?"

He turned and looked at her curiously, one eyebrow raised, "Of course not. I'd never read them without your permission. To do otherwise would be . . . impolite."

Misaki let out a breath that she didn't even know she'd been holding and felt as if she would melt into the floor.

"Of course, I do intend to read them someday, but rest assured, I'll ask your permission first."

After a long day of near misses, Misaki finally gave into her impulse and fainted dead away.

  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  



	4. But wait, there's more!

Public Relations

  


Part Four of Three?

  


By Gabi-hime

(pinkfluffynet@yahoo.com)

Spoilers: The end of Angelic Layer TV.

Pairing: Misaki/Oujirou, implied Shuuko/Icchan

Rating: PG-13 for implied silliness XD

Synopsis: A humor/romance piece in three parts. Misaki thought that she knew Oujirou pretty well, until she found out about his doujinshi habit, that is. A little something extra for those of us who just have to have an after the credits shot :D

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"What exactly am I supposed to think? I come home and find my dear little brother with the champion....and her in a dead faint! Might I mention in his bedroom?"

  


"I really don't know what got into her. She went into my room accidentally. She was just trying to find the bathroom."

  


"Humph, I'm sure accidentally. I'll bet you used the same 'I meant my left' line that you used on Shuuko."

  


Oujirou pointedly ignored him, "She just fainted cleanly away. We were just talking about doujinshi when . . . "

  
"No wonder she fainted! You were accosting her with all sorts of dirty things!"

  


"Nii-chan, I suggest you drop it or Misaki might just stumble onto the well thumbed collection of Athena and Shuu doujinshi you keep under your bed."

  


"KYAAAA! You wouldn't dare!"

  


"You think not?" 

  


Misaki opened one eye and glanced up at the two gentlemen who were having such a heated argument about her innocence. They were both so embroiled that they didn't even notice her and she felt the absurd urge to giggle.

  


Well, it had certainly been an adventure. Whether or not it was to be Super Fun Fun had yet to be determined.

  


FIN

  


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Whoo! All done! And now you hopefully won't come after me with pitchforks any more ^_^. My next planned multi-part Angelic Layer story is "Something You'll Never Forget" which is considerably more serious than Public Relations (I really hope you all get the double entendre in the name XD I'm such a goober because I was horribly impressed with myself for coming up with that one XD


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